Unseeing Eyes Revised
by WishUponAStar1015
Summary: A story was told with much left unsaid. Kyuubi was infamous, but what about his best friend? Not a tailed beast, but a god, his power was sealed within a young kunoichi to help heal his most precious object. Can Kyuubi and Seiryu open Naruto's eyes to the one who stood by him through everything?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters. I only own my created original characters and am posting this for legalities. **

**I have decided to delete the older versions of this story after I finish posting what I have edited, but with one major change. I will personally reply to each review, but it will be as the form of a PM instead of in the chapter.**

* * *

**Unseeing Eyes **

**Part One **

**Prologue**

* * *

We, as humans, don't understand the things that we don't see. We can't possibly imagine the things that go on in the world, or other worlds. Consider the fact that our history had an abundance of silent assassins, called ninja or shinobi. Now, consider the fact that, in an alternate world, the time of the shinobi was still running rampant. And, in this world, there were five main countries. These were as followed: the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire.

These lands host different villages. Iwagakure (Village Hidden Among the Rocks), Kumogakure (Village Hidden in the Clouds), Kirigakure (Village Hidden in the Mist), Sunagakure (Village Hidden in the Sand), and, lastly, Konohagakure (Village Hidden in the Leaves) respectfully.

It is within the village Konohagakure, known as Konoha for short, our story begins. This story revolves around a particular young shinobi – one who is shunned by humanity. Shunned in his home village simply because he harbors something the others can't understand. The story follows him on his quest to complete his nindo: his shinobi way.

But, that is not all there is to this story. There are many other people who are influenced by this boy, but none more than a girl who had lost everything and everyone, except for the one who took her in. She is the last of her immediate family, and the Lord had a plan for her – as he does with every one of his children. This story is also the story of the child who hosted the power of Seiryu, the powerful Dragon God.

I can't get into too much detail right now, but you'll understand soon enough. This is the story of entwined fates – of destinies and of challenges. This is a story of defeat of humility. Of acceptance and friendships forged.

This is the story of Uzumaki Naruto and the girl who saw through his disguise – Ryuujin Kori. This is the story of love, hardships, death, pain, sadness, joy, and a bundle of other emotions that can't be understood by themselves.

This is the story of how the host of Kyuubi found, fought for, and kept his mate.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Ryuujin Kori**

* * *

The sun was shining brightly. It shone down on a village, the shinobi village of Konoha. Within this village lived a girl, and the ever brightening sun filtered through her window. The window led to a small, comfortable room. It was fairly neat. Clothing was piled in neat stacks and a few weapon pouches were hanging off a small chair in the corner of the room. The shower was running in the bathroom the girl shared with her caretaker.

The futon held a cover that was dark blue, and there was a small creature sleeping in the middle of the neatly made mess. That small creature was the girl's animal companion, and partner in life. They were tied together in a way that nobody else understood. Her family didn't pride themselves by partnering with dogs, like the Inuzuka family. They didn't summon slugs, toads, or snakes. No, the animal that partnered with the Ryuujin family was the dragon. The dragon that was sleeping on the futon's cover was fairly young. He was as big as the kunoichi's forearm, and he was of the ice variety. His name was Saiki and his scales were a pearly white color. The strip of scales along his stomach was a very light blue, similar to the color you would think of when thinking of ice. Saiki's eyes were coal black and so were the four horns protruding from his head. He had two little patches of grey scales right below his eyes.

Unlike the other dragons of his kind, the ice dragons, Saiki had fur. He had a strip of grey fur under his bottom lip, a long strip of fur between his eyes to his horns, and a strip of fur all along his back to the tip of his tail. Unlike other dragons, he also had wings. It was a genetic mutation, but he didn't care. He liked his wings. Saiki had four fingers on his hands and feet, each toe ending with a deadly claw.

Saiki's wings were lined with the same light grey fur. The feathers were shaped like shards of ice. In fact, they actually _were_ ice, but they never melted due to the dragon's element being ice. Saiki was an unusual dragon, but he didn't mind. His head perked up as he heard the shower stop. A few moments later, his kunoichi, Ryuujin Kori, made her way into the room.

**_Forget to bring your clothes to the bathroom again, Kori? _**He laughed, breath coming out in a hiss. The girl he was talking to was only twelve years old. She was almost thirteen, but she was also mature for her age. Kori had been orphaned at a young age, so she was forced to become mature. Growing up, she only had Saiki and her caretaker, Umino Iruka. He was one of the Shinobi Instructors at the Academy. Iruka took her in when her parents died even though he had been living on his own. He had a small income, but decided he couldn't let her float through the system. Or end up like another young orphaned shinobi he knew very well.

Kori was average. She wasn't very tall, and she wasn't short. She was in between chubby and thin. She had very light, ice blue eyes, which were nice, but the one feature she was the most proud of was her hair. It was long, falling past her waist in neat waves. She usually kept her hair styled in a coiled braid at the top of her head. She used two chopsticks with hidden knives in the end to keep the braid in place. Though, she sometimes let her hair fall free when she wasn't at the Academy. Her bangs framed her face, coming to rest at her collar bone, and the reason why she loved her hair so much was because of its color. Corresponding to her dragon's element, she had icy white-blue hair and pale blue bangs. She loved the color of her hair and Iruka often commented on it, along with the other girls in her class.

"What do you think?" Kori questioned her dragon. "I can't help it sometimes. I was up late last night reviewing our homework." She explained as she dressed. Kori was so used to the little dragon in the room with her that she didn't mind dressing in front of him. Iruka gave her enough privacy for that. It was a weekend, which meant that there were no lessons at the Academy. But that also meant that Iruka was on a mission, which also meant that Kori was left to do all of the chores. This included grocery shopping.

But, if she hurried, there was a little time for training before the shops opened. Otherwise, she would never have gotten up so early. Nobody else was up this early. As she dressed she thought about her training for the day. She was wearing a typical pre-graduation outfit for her clan. This outfit included a sleeveless black kimono that reached her knees, an ice blue obi to hold it closed, and a silver dragon embroidered on the back. When she graduated from the Academy, she would be presented with a new kimono with corresponding colors. There were two slits on either side, reaching from the hem to her waist. To cover her skin, she wore long tan pants that ended in soft fishnet when it reached her calves.

Open black shinobi sandals were on her feet and she never travelled anywhere without her weapon pouch. Iruka didn't know she carried it with her. She wasn't supposed to be wearing the pouch since she was not a graduate yet. Kori picked up Saiki and let him climb around her arm so that he was situated on her shoulder. She locked the apartment and then jumped off the balcony of the apartment she shared with Iruka. In no time, she was on her way to the training grounds.

Kori trained for two hours, resisting the strong urge to use any of her special techniques. She had been forbidden by the Hokage to use her most powerful ones, mostly because of the fact that she hadn't completely mastered them yet. They were familial techniques and had been passed down her line for generations. Through the entire training session, Kori couldn't help but feel two distinct pairs of eyes on her. Although she could sense the people easily, she didn't want to cause a fuss by chasing the owners of the chakra. She ignored the feeling of someone watching her. If they wanted to hurt her, they would have done so when she was distracted. Kori collected her used shuriken and kunai, testing their dull edges. She would have to get them sharpened soon. She replaced the miniature kunai in her hair sticks and turned to look at the trees. One was fairly familiar, but she couldn't place the other one. She had sensed it before, but she couldn't recognize it.

Calling Saiki, she turned to go to the marketplace in order to do her grocery shopping. Then, she would go home and take a much needed bath. She didn't notice that one of the people who had watched her train follow her to the market. The other one stayed hidden in the leaves. This shinobi was wearing a tight green spandex suit and orange leg warmers. His eyes were like dark pieces of coal and his black hair was shaped in a bowl-cut. He had already graduated from the Academy one year prior. He was wearing a red clothed head plate – a hitai-ate – around the waist of his jumpsuit. He had been watching Kori with a curious expression on his face.

He was not surprised when a much larger and identically clad figure landed on the branch next to him.

"Lee!" he addressed the small figure. "I am pleased to see that you are expressing your youthfulness by observing your fellow shinobi in training!" the older figure shouted, striking a unique pose, and grinning. The older figure gave his student a thumbs up, truly pleased that the student, Rock Lee, had taken an interest in someone. A girl no less.

"Sensei!" Lee cried, standing from his crouch. "Who was that youthful girl? The one with the _dragon_? Is she still a student in the Academy? I do not see a hitai-ate anywhere on her person!" he perked up, resting his attention solely on his teacher.

"Lee!" his sensei shouted. "How youthful for you to ask!" he continued with tears sparkling in his eyes. The older man opened his arms wide, grinning as his pupil launched himself within his arms.

"Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Sensei!" they continued back and forth for the better of ten minutes. Finally, when the two of them broke apart, did the sensei, Maito Gai, answer his pupil's question.

"Lee! You must become more youthful by following this girl! Then, you can find the answer for yourself! Only then can you become a fine shinobi!" Gai exclaimed, striking another odd pose as a sunset filled with a myriad of colors appeared behind him.

"Yosh!" Lee shouted. "I will do my best, Sensei!"

Meanwhile, the second shinobi that had been spying on Kori had followed her to the market. Unlike Lee, this shinobi had not graduated from the Academy. He was in Kori's class, and they were friends. They weren't the best of friends, but they were friends nonetheless. Most people would recognize him as the number one troublemaker in Konoha, but Kori thought otherwise. She just thought he was lonely. He wore an orange jumpsuit with a black tee shirt underneath his jacket. He wore shinobi sandals on his feet and a pair of dark goggles was sitting on his forehead.

Uzumaki Naruto was following Kori out of simple curiosity. He wanted to get to know her, but he was intimidated by the fact that she lived with their teacher. If he was intimidated by anyone it was their teacher – Umino Iruka. It wasn't because of the fact that Iruka was an authority figure. Naruto actually loved breaking the rules. It was because of the fact that Naruto looked up to him like an older brother.

Naruto flipped through the trees as he followed his target. He had met Kori a few times, but had admired her from a distance. No, not for her good looks. He liked Sakura because she was pretty. He liked Kori because he felt a bond with her. They were both orphans. She was often ridiculed in class for her hair color, but never around Iruka. Not much was known about her family in Konoha. Her clan disowned her father when he married her mother. They were killed a long time ago, when Kori was a baby. She was chosen by an ice dragon and because of that her hair changed from brown to white and blue. Naruto also admired her because she found a way to be acknowledged for her skills. She was one of the most skilled kunoichi in her class. What she lacked in tactics, she made up with speed and techniques. Kori didn't try to earn acknowledgment by playing pranks. Instead, she was kind to those who insulted her. It was like she didn't understand that they were making fun of her.

Naruto followed Kori with her dragon as she completed her grocery shopping. He knew what he was doing could be qualified as stalking, but he was curious about her. Unfortunately, the grocery list Kori had was too long for her to gather by herself. She had four bags in her hands and Saiki was flying beside her, carrying two smaller bags. He had one gripped in his hands and the other was held by his coiled hand. Naruto had no doubt that she was a skilled kunoichi, but even she couldn't avoid the inevitable. Saiki let out a hiss of warning, but she couldn't dodge the kids that bumped into her from behind.

**_Kori, watch out for the children! _**Saiki hissed a warning, fluttering his wings as he tried to balance the bag of groceries he was carrying. Kori dodged to the side, but, because of her overstuffed arms, she lost her grip on one of the bags. Naruto didn't want her groceries to be soiled so he lunged forward, catching the bag of groceries in his arms. Kori was startled, but she was even more startled when she realized it was Naruto.

"Oh," she gasped in surprise. "Naruto." She said before smiling. She tried to balance the third bag of groceries she still had in her arms. Naruto grinned as he took the third bag that was in Kori's arms. Her cheeks were dusted in a faint blush, not that Naruto noticed, and she bit her lip.

"Thank you," she quietly said as he adjusted the bags in his arms. It took two children to carry all of the groceries this time. Iruka could have handled all four, and maybe the two smaller bags, with ease.

"No problem," he said. Now was his chance. "What was your name?" he thought long and hard, but he just couldn't remember her name. Kori's cheeks burned red once again as he realized that Naruto didn't know her name.

"I'm Kori, remember?" she asked, hoping that he would remember when she gave him her name. After he thought for a moment, his expression seemed to change. He was sure that her name was something along those lines. Naruto grinned, and they were on their way before suddenly stopping short. Another child had almost run into the two of them. After they made sure they were in a child-free zone, the two wandered back to Kori's apartment. For some reason he was acting extremely docile. Naruto wasn't acting like the rambunctious prankster he was notorious for being.

"So," she began, "why are you helping me and not pulling some sort of prank?" Kori asked, looking sideways at Naruto. He was startled out of his thoughts, but he managed to maintain his grin.

"I dunno," he said. "I just seem calmer with you around. I like it." He continued, shifting the bags he was holding so he could scratch his cheek. He looked the other way, missing the blush that was once again present on Kori's face.

**_He must be attracted to your calming chakra. It's present in most of the women of our clan._** Saiki explained to Kori. All Naruto heard were strange hissing noises, but Kori could understand him perfectly. Soon enough, the two were at the apartment. Kori let Naruto in, but as soon as he set down the bags of groceries he was gone. Kori darted to the front door, calling his name.

"Naruto," she called, catching him right when he was about to leap off the railing. She caught him off guard and planted a kiss on his cheek, right where his whisker-markings were.

"Thanks for helping me today," she said. "See you at the Academy tomorrow." She smiled at his grinning face. Naruto nodded before yelling and jumping off the railing, leaving her to unpack the groceries. She finished the day with dinner, leaving some for Iruka to eat when he got home, and went to sleep, but her dreams were disturbed by a larger than life dragon.

A dragon god named Seiryu.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Uzumaki Naruto Part One**

* * *

Once there was a great nine-tailed fox. He was a beast of an animal, a demon. With one swing of its mighty tail, the mountains would crumble and tsunamis would take form. To fight this demonic entity, the people assembled people called 'the Shinobi.' There was one brave shinobi who was able to seal up the demonic being. Unfortunately, that shinobi lost his life. That brave soul was known as the fourth Hokage.

The Hokage's face rested on a great mountain, immortalized by being carved in stone. On either side of the respected monument, there were the faces of the previous three Hokages. As strong as they were, they could not escape their deaths. Their time was over and their memory would always be remembered because of the monument.

One brave boy dared to defile the monument. He streaked different colored paints on the stone. White, green, red, and blue. All sorts of colors ran from the eyes, noses, and covered the cheeks, hair, and faces of the monuments. The honorable ones looked like clowns. The child responsible than the resident troublemaker, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto giggled mischievously as he continued to deface the great monument, gathering angered people underneath him.

Across the village, in the highest tower, was the Hokage. He was the strongest shinobi in the village – despite his age. He was an elderly man, having once retired and given his role to the Fourth Hokage. Since the Fourth sacrificed himself, the current leader took on the role once again. He was known as the third Hokage.

The old man had white hair and a medium length white beard settled on his chin. The leader was sitting in front of a long white piece of paper. He had been intending on writing on the giant scroll when he was interrupted by a subordinate.

"Hokage-sama!" a Jonin level shinobi appeared in the Hokage's office. The Jonin was out of breath, having just dashed from the monument as fast as he could to inform the Hokage. Naruto was always getting on the village's nerves.

"What is it?" the Hokage said slowly, tiredly looking over his shoulder. He eyed the shinobi. "Is Naruto causing trouble again?" his voice was mildly interested. The Hokage had a soft spot for the troublemaker. The Jonin paused to catch his breath. His face furrowed into a scowl as he thought about Naruto's antics.

"Yes," the Jonin said as he finally caught his breath. "That punk, Naruto, is desecrating the Hokage Monument!" he exclaimed. He waved his hands for emphasis. A second shinobi appeared, staying silent until now.

"And this time he did it with paint!" the second Jonin shouted, a vein throbbing in his forehead. The two Jonin watched as their Hokage reached to the side for his Kage hat. It was like a type of rice farmer's hat except for the fact that it was styled much more intricately. A white cloth hung down in the back, covering the old man's neck and the sides of his face. The cloth went down to graze his shoulders. The Hokage placed the hat on his head and sighed. He wondered what the boy had done to the Hokage monument. The Hokage left with the two Jonin, taking his time to get to the monument.

Meanwhile, a large group of villagers had gathered below the monument. They shouted crude insults toward Naruto since he was causing so much trouble.

"Hey," one stranger yelled. "Stop causing trouble!" he shouted up to the blond shinobi. Naruto just ignored him.

"Stop doing this every day," a second villager scoffed. Naruto was brave. He ignored the sharp words of the villager and continued to spray paint the Hokage's monument.

"You'll pay for this!" another villager threatened, gathering the attention of Kori, who happened to be passing by. She had been on her way to the market to get a treat for Saiki when she heard the commotion. Kori became angry when she heard the threats that the villagers were giving her friend.

"Hey," she shouted, strutting forward. "Leave Naruto alone!" she exclaimed, voice rising higher as she came to stand in front of the crowd. She was wearing her normal outfit, but her arms were covered with blood stained bandages. One of her jutsu went haywire during training. She threw her arms out to the side. It was like she was protecting Naruto from the villagers' angry words. Saiki perched on her shoulder, but he took to the air and began pulling the hair of the men who insulted Naruto.

Kori's eyes were ablaze. How dare they threaten him? All Naruto was doing was trying to be recognized. He was trying to gain a little attention. Naruto had paused in his painting, glancing out of the corner of his eye to spot Kori standing in front of the crowd. A small blush spread across his cheeks. He liked the fact that Kori stood up for him, but his small smile was quickly replaced by a frown when he heard one of the villagers insult her.

"Don't tell us what to do, dragon wench," he taunted. "Why are you even defending that monster?" the villager questioned. Kori jerked back, stunned and hurt by being called such a name. Saiki bristled. His scales started to shimmer and the air around him became degrees colder.

"Saiki, calm down," Kori muttered sadly. She lowered her arms, and a deep, heavy sensation settled in her chest. Suddenly, Naruto's determined voice cut through the air.

"Shut up, you idiots, and leave Kori alone!" Naruto screamed, narrowing his eyes in anger. He didn't like it when people insulted the people he cared about. He considered Kori a friend – whether she thought so or not.

"None of you guys could do something this horrible, but I can! I am incredible!" Naruto gloated. He gave off a mischievous aura. Kori was surprised – she hadn't expected Naruto to stick up for her. She turned around to watch as Naruto continued to paint on the Hokage Monument. Suddenly, Kori jumped as the Hokage walked up beside her. She jumped again, screaming a little, when she realized Iruka was standing on her other side. Saiki finally calmed down and settled across her shoulders, wrapping his long tail around her right arm.

"Geeze," the Hokage commented. "What has that idiot done?" he asked himself. He looked over the damage that had been done to the monument, noticing the Academy teacher out of the corner of his eye. The Hokage grunted, not saying to the young kunoichi. He gave Iruka his complete attention.

"Third Hokage-sama, I apologize for this," Iruka apologized as he glanced towards the monument. Iruka was wearing the standard Chuunin uniform – a dark long sleeved shirt, long black pants, and a green Chuunin vest. Iruka had kind eyes. His chocolate colored hair was tied in a high ponytail, and the most distinguishing feature on his face was the deep scar that ran across his nose.

"Oh," the Hokage commented. "Iruka." Of course Iruka wouldn't be far behind Naruto when the blond shinobi was causing trouble. The Chuunin took a deep breath, preparing to discipline his student.

"What the hell do you think you're doin' during class time?!" Iruka shouted up to Naruto. Kori took the time to slip away, cradling her ice dragon in her wounded arms. She jumped from rock to rock, eventually making it to the trees. Her intentions were set on getting Naruto out of the line of fire.

"Get down here, you moron!" Iruka's voice was loud, reverberating across the valley. Naruto was surprised by the intensity of the shouting. He looked down, suddenly afraid of what his teacher would do to him when he was caught.

"Yikes," he muttered. "It's Iruka-sensei." He tried to think of a way to get out of being punished. Nothing came to him. Naruto jumped when Kori suddenly appeared on top of the head he was painting. Kori looked down at him, a small smile spread across her face, while Saiki hissed a greeting.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" she quietly asked. She held her smile as Naruto fumbled with the paint brushes. He looked up at her with wide eyes. He was sure that she would have left once Iruka arrived. He was sure that the pretty kunoichi wanted to avoid trouble – yet, she was there. Kori was still kneeling on top of the monument, looking down at him. Her dragon was still splayed across her shoulders. A light blush covered Naruto's cheeks. He hadn't really received the attention of a girl before. He had an urge to impress her.

"I'm just doing a little prank," he explained in his usual loud voice. Kori smiled down at him, not knowing what else to do. Her smile seemed like an encouragement, and it made Naruto grin even wider.

"Isn't this cool, Kori? Huh, huh?" Naruto asked, pulling himself up so that he was sitting next to her. She shifted so that she was sitting instead of kneeling. Saiki chirped as he pulled on Naurto's hair.

"It sure is colorful," she said, not answering his question. "Don't you think we should be in class?" she asked, eyes creasing in worry. It was true that she had been on her way to the market, but she had skipped class looking for Naruto. He, however, scoffed and took hold of her hand. Kori cradled her young ice dragon against her shoulder.

"No time for worries," Naruto said. "We have to go or else Iruka-sensei will catch us!" he exclaimed. Kori looked hesitant, but she shoved her hesitancy aside. Her mouth soon curved into a bigger smile and she giggled. The two of them jumped from the monument, eventually giving their teacher the slip. She pulled a camouflage blanket from seemingly nowhere. The blanket had a wood-like pattern sewn into it so it covered them when they pressed themselves against a wooden fence. They effectively gave Iruka the slip. Once he passed, the two of them lowered the blanket.

"That was close, Naruto," Kori laughed. "I can't believe we got away." She breathed, heart pumping with adrenaline. Naruto grinned. It was like she had given him a compliment.

"It was fun, right?" he questioned her, eager to hear her answer.

"Yes," she agreed. "It was fun, but we need to get to class." Kori insisted. She was a sort of goody-two-shoes. She had never missed a class before. She wasn't sure how Iruka would react.

"Oh, who needs class, anyway?!" Naruto huffed, turning his head and puffing out his cheeks in annoyance. Kori had to go and ruin their fun, but Naruto wasn't really mad at her.

"Don't you want to see Sakura?" Kori questioned in a quiet voce. Naruto turned to look at her and thought about it. Come to think of it, Naruto hadn't thought about Sakura all day. It was true that he thought the pink haired kunoichi was extremely pretty, but he had been distracted by Kori. He had been distracted by the way Kori stood up for him when the villagers were yelling at him. Naruto's cheeks flushed as he remembered Kori's determined face, but he pretended to perk up at the mention of Sakura's name.

"Of course I want to see Sakura," Naruto grinned. He placed his hands behind his head, "But I'm too great of a shinobi to go to school!"

"Is that so?" both of the young shinob gasped. They were surprised by the heavy breathing behind them.

"Oh," Kori gasped. "Iruka." She felt extremely guilty for missing class. The three stood silent for a few moments. They looked at each other, and, the next thing ether of the students knew, Naruto was tied up like a pig. Kori stared at him silently for a few seconds before shaking her head. She knew she was nowhere near the level of a Chuunin. The three of them teleported back to the classroom, and Naruto was dumped in the corner. Iruka then took Kori gently by the shoulder and led her to the corner of the classroom.

"Why weren't you in class, Kori?" Iruka gently chided. "It's not like you to miss class. Especially when I woke you early enough to get some training in." Kori flushed a dark color. Saiki chirped, bobbing his head up and down.

**_Just be glad that he can't understand Dragontongue. If he could, I would tell him all about your crush on Naruto._**Saiki chuckled as Kori blushed even darker. Iruka waited patiently for the young girl's reply.

"I was worried about Naruto," she began, sending a glance towards Naruto. The blond shinobi was looking at her with an indistinguishable expression on his face. Iruka knew that there was more to it than that. He had lived with her for a long time. He gave her a look and she sighed. "I didn't want him to get in trouble with the villagers again. He's only looking for a little recognition." She gave Naruto a sad look. The older man sighed, giving Kori a look of understanding. Iruka's eyes were filled with remorse. He hated what the villagers did to Naruto every day.

Instead of being punished like she thought she would be, Iruka merely placed his hand on her head and smiled. The two of them shared a bond like no other.

"I understand, Kori, but don't let it happen again." Iruka softly chided. "To grow strong, you must first attend class." Kori nodded, giggling as Saiki twitched his wings.

"Bah," the sound came from Naruto. He was still tied up on the floor. Iruka motioned for Kori to take her seat and narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"Tomorrow is the Shinobi Academy's Graduation Exam," Iruka started. "You have failed the last two times. This is no time to be causing trouble. MORON!" Iruka exclaimed, venting his anger. Naruto just wasn't taking things seriously. Naruto's eyes began to twitch, but Kori was quick to intervene. They were wasting enough time arguing. The class was supposed to be practicing for the exam.

"If it'll help, I'll tutor Naruto," Kori suggested. Saiki chirped on her shoulder, offering his help as well. Naruto smiled and his eyes began to sparkle. With Kori's help, he would be on his way to becoming recognized. But, Iruka had other plans.

"No," Iruka denied. "You all need a good night's rest. If it he fails, it's because he was slacking off." The Chuunin said, glancing down at Naruto.

Naruto's previously excited expression fell into a depressed scowl. "Yeah, yeah."

The blatant show of disrespect caused Iruka to crack. A few veins started to protrude from his skull. Iruka abruptly turned and took a hold of Kori's arm. He gently dragged her from her seat and set her at the beginning of the tables.

"Time for a review test on the Henge o Jutsu." He said. "Everyone line up!" Iruka called out, giving Naruto a severe glare. Iruka thought it was a fitting punishment. The class didn't think so.

"Transform perfectly into me!" Iruka exclaimed. "First up, Ryuujin Kori." He said while taking out a clipboard. It held the class roster on it.

"Right," she said. She never called Iruka by his name in class. Ether she didn't refer to him by name at all, or she called him 'sensei.' Kori held her hands in the appropriate position and used the Henge technique. She created a completely identical clone as Saiki landed on her shoulder. Kori transformed back and sent a small smile to Naruto. He grinned back at her.

"Okay," Iruka murmured. "Good. Next up, Uzumaki, Naruto," Iruka inwardly smiled as he checked off Kori's name. Her training had been coming along quite nicely.

"This is your fault," a student hissed as Naruto passed by him. Naruto, however, cared little about the rest of the class. Well, except for Kori and Sakura.

"Like I care," he huffed, making his way to the front of the line. He made the necessary hand gestures and shouted, "TRANSFORM!"

Unlike Kori, who transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka, Naruto had a little something else in mind. It was something that inappropriate for a class as young as theirs. Naruto had changed into a woman in her older teens, but the woman version of Naruto was nude. She was covering her private areas, but the girls still squealed in shock. Iruka withstood the nonsense as long as he could, but he was a man. He couldn't ignore what was right in front of him. Blood shot out of his nose, causing him to ricochet to the corner of the room. Naruto transformed back and glanced to the girls, winking to Kori and smiling at Sakura.

"Haha!" Naruto laughed. "I call it 'Sexy no Jutsu! Didn't I do great, Sakura? Huh, huh?" he asked, sidling up to her. In everyone else's point of view, it seemed like Naruto had a crush on her. Sakura just clenched her fist and punched in in the back of the head. Naruto didn't seem to notice that Iruka had recovered.

"You idiot!" Iruka shouted in his student's face, completely fed up with his childishness. "Don't invent stupid skills!" the rest of the class laughed at Naruto's misfortune, but Kori was chuckling from Iruka's reaction. She didn't care that he failed.

"Naruto, what was that?" she laughed. He could tell by the way she was laughing that it wasn't directed at his failure. She wasn't being cruel.

After class let out, hours later, Naruto was being forced to clean the paint off the Hokage monument. He was forced to sit in the same pulley that he used to paint the faces to begin with. His day had gone full circle and was almost complete. Naruto was scowling as he continued to wash the paint from the stone.

"I won't let you go home until you clean it all off," Iruka sad. He watched the young prankster with a stoic face. Naruto had made the mess and the punishment was to clean every drop of paint. Kori was there as well. She had nowhere else to be, so she thought she would keep her guardian and Naruto company. Saiki, the young ice dragon, was resting across her shoulders, as usual.

"Like I care," Naruto muttered. "It's not like I have anyone to go home to." He thought that he was being quiet, but his voice carried through the air to the two waiting figures. Kori immediately felt guilty for making Naruto clean the statues, though she wasn't the one who came up with the punishment.

She picked up a rag and said, "Naruto, do you want some help?"

His face dropped in shock. Nobody had ever offered to help him clean up the aftermath of one of his pranks.

"Why?" he asked, becoming confused.

"So we can get done faster," she said, making a makeshift pulley to sit on. "and I like spending time with you. You're funny."

It was the first time someone of his age group had complimented him. It was a bonus that she was a girl _and_ a kunoichi. Naruto's mouth dropped open a bit before he let out a small smile of contentment.

"I like spending time with you, too. You're…" He could think of hundreds of things to complete that sentence, but he didn't want Kori to think he had a crush on her. It wasn't like he did, right? "You're calming." He finally sad. It was true. The heiress to the Ryuujin clan was calming due to a special circumstance that nether one of them was aware of at that moment. The young shinobi continued to scrub at the monument before Iruka sighed, interrupting the companionable silence.

"Naruto," he started.

"Now what?" Naruto grumbled. He was trying to finish as soon as possible so he could go home. Not that he didn't enjoy Kori's presence. He was just annoyed at Iruka. Kori giggled at the look on Naruto's face.

"Well, if you clean all this up, I'll buy you some ramen when Kori and I go eat tonight," Iruka said, rubbing the back of his head. He looked down warmly at the two working children. Kori looked up and smiled out of gratitude.

"Awesome, Iruka," she turned to look at Naruto, whose face was glowing.

"Okay!" he shouted. "I'll work hard! I will!" and the two of them finished cleaning the monument within the next hour. Naruto's intense craving for ramen was that strong. The three of them sat at Ichirakus, enjoying a nice hot bowl of ramen. Kori sat on the far left – with Saiki in her lap, feeding him bits of beef that was in her bowl. Naruto sat in the middle, and Iruka sat on the right of Naruto. They were all quietly enjoying their meal before Kori's curiosity got the better of her.

"Naruto," she began as she fed Saiki another bit of beef.

"Huh?" he questioned, mouth full of delicious ramen.

"Why were you defacing the monument today?" she asked, eyes wide and full of curiosity.

"That's right," Iruka said. "Why _were_ you defacing the monument?" the Chuunin asked, setting down his chopsticks. "Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed. "Basically those that receive the Hokage name are the strongest shinobi in the village, right?" Naruto's eyes were bright with admiration.

It was Kori who answered the question.

"That's right. And among them is the fourth, a hero who saved the village from a fox demon. The current Hokage is the third," she explained, taking a bite of noodles.

"Then, if you know who the Hokage are, why did you deface them?" Iruka asked again.

"One day," Naruto replied, "I'm going to get the Hokage name. Then, I'm going to surpass all the previous Hokages!" Naruto said, surprising both Kori and Iruka. "And then, I'll make the village recognize my strength!"

Naruto thought he was alone in his quest to become Hokage, but he wasn't. He was far from being alone.

"I believe in you, Naruto," Kori said, giving him a small smile. Naruto's face displayed a deep shock, maintaining it before he smiled widely. His heart was pounding as her words sunk into his very soul. He laughed before turning to Iruka.

"By the way, Sensei," he began, "I have a request." He finished, taking off his goggles.

"What, you want seconds?" Iruka joked, drawing a hearty laugh from Kori.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Can I borrow your leaf headband?" he asked. Kori abruptly stopped laughing.

"Oh, this?" Iruka asked as he touched his hitai-ate. "No, this is for after you graduate. This is a symbol that you've come of age. Maybe you'll get one tomorrow." Iruka said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Stingy!" Narugo grumbled, letting the other two laugh at his attitude. The night was fun, filled with eating and companionship. Naruto's heart swelled. Finally, he was being accepted by someone his own age. From then on, he vowed to protect Kori so that he would have at least one friend in the world that believed in him.


End file.
